My White Comet
by lushkin
Summary: Ryosuke Takahashi is a dedicated racer. No strings attached dating can mean no harm, right? That is until he met her.
1. Chapter 1 First Look

**My White Comet**

**Chapter 1 – **

"I sometimes wonder whether you guys are just too manipulative or am I just easily swayed by your words."

"Tsk tsk. My dear Sumie, you wanna know the truth?" Nyoko asked back. She held Sumie's gaze through the rear view mirror. "Keep your eyes on the road, please." Sumie shot back.

"The latter," chuckled Aki.

"AKI!" Sumie whined. "Now you guys really make me feel stupid," Sumie slightly pouted and looked out of the car window.

"Sorry, sorry," Aki said, turning around to look at her. "We're just going out for some fun," Sumie couldn't help but feel uneasy when she heard Aki say the word fun. Earlier on that evening, Aki and Nyoko had come over to Sumie's place for a surprise visit. The moment they barged in, they instructed Sumie to change, informing her that they're bringing her out. Sumie had stayed put on the couch, not giving in to their orders. However, 1 and a half hour later, the trio are on the road, in Nyoko's car with Aki and Nyoko up front and Sumie alone at the back. To top it all off, Sumie doesn't know where they're going except that they're now up at a mountain.

"And since when is fun associated with being up on a mountain?" Sumie said glumly.

Nyoko and Aki exchanged glances before laughing out loud. Sumie rolled her eyes and decided to continue to stare out of the window.

The stars were shining brightly that night and the lush greenery of the mountain provided a spectacular view. The soft purring of the engine and the surrounding silence offered a serene atmosphere. Almost immediately, Sumie felt relaxed.

_A good way of de-stressing,_ she thought.

She had been too caught up in the hustle and bustle of the city that she frequently forgets to lie back and take a breather. She then leant back comfortably against the backrest.

Sumie Nishihara owns a café, a small but cosy one. Business is good and she's been up and around for the past 3 months ever since her café opened for business. She had her parents to thank for as they were the ones who made it all happen. Her filthy rich parents were against it initially as rich girls don't do small businesses like this but being the independent and determined kind of girl Sumie is, they eventually gave in. She would forever be indebted to…… _Am I seeing things?_

Sumie sat up straight. She wasn't imagining it. The image of a huge young crowd was clearly forming right in front of her eyes. She looked around and saw many cars. Racing cars to be exact. Different groups of guys, some wearing similar jackets with weird words on the back, skimpily-clad girls…

Nyoko eventually parked the car and all three stepped out. "Aki, can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Nyoko!" a male voice shouted. "Takumi!" Sumie spurned around to see a young cute guy walked over to where they're standing. He seems familiar but Sumie just can't put her finger on it. Nyoko hugged the guy and then both of them turned to look at Sumie and Aki.

It finally dawned of Sumie. Of course, Takumi is the guy that Nyoko brought to Sumie's café a few days ago. They'd been on a couple of dates and he is the object of Nyoko's conversation for the past week.

"Hey girls, you all are just on time" Takumi greeted them. "Come on, follow me," Nyoko then walked hand in hand with Takumi.

"Takumi's competing today and wanted Nyoko' support. So, that's why we're here." Aki finally explained. "He races?" asked a very lost Sumie. Aki looked at her as if she's growing another head. "Err… yah.." Sumie just nodded and looked around. On the opposite side of the road was another group, which Sumie assumed is the opponent.

"I'm sooo excited!" Nyoko squealed as soon she joined them. "I've always wanted to see Takumi race." Nyoko sighed dreamily. "Your wish will be fulfilled very soon," Sumie replied. "Hey how come you never told me that he races?"

Nyoko slumps her shoulders and gave Sumie an exasperated look. "So all those stuffs I told you about Takumi definitely fell on deaf ears."

"Whoops, sorry" was all Sumie could say. "Look, his car's coming." Sumie saw a black and white Trueno slowly approaching and soon it stopped right at the starting line, which is front of her. A guy stood in the middle of the two cars and immediately the crowd quietened.

"Fellas, today we're witnessing a race between the Blue Horizon and Project D." The crowd then started yelling and cheering. The guy started talking some more but Sumie wasn't listening. She was more interested in looking around at the crowd. Soon, her eyes fell on this particular guy. It was weird because all she could see from this angle was his back. He was quite tall, black hair with soft blonde highlights, donning faded jeans and olive green jacket. He was talking to Takumi who was listening intently to every word. Takumi then walked away and that guy turned slightly, showing Sumie his side profile. Her gaze must be intensifying because the next moment, the guy turned to look at Sumie showing his beautiful face to her.

His sharp features justify his striking appearance. His lips, formed into a slight smirk as if mocking at her own thoughts. However, amidst all of that, it was the depth of his stare that attracted Sumie. His eyes, they were cold yet intensifying. Sumie felt herself drawn to him. The more she tried to break the gaze, Sumie found herself getting sucked deeper into his whirlpool stare.

"… and Ryosuke Takahashi!" a voice boomed, breaking into Sumie's thoughts. The guy took one last look at her before walking towards the crowd who was cheering him on.


	2. Chapter 2 Flying Start

**Chapter 2 **

After the race, the Redsuns and Project D and some of their friends went to a pub to celebrate their win.

Ryosuke leaned back on the chair and observed Takumi. Just over a year ago, Takumi had joined Ryosuke's Team and Project D was formed. Takumi had been brilliant throughout the whole year. He definitely has a got potential and most importantly, always willing to learn.

"Jealous?" a familiar voice disturbed.

"Jealous of …?" Ryosuke asked lazily.

"You've been staring at Takumi and his girlfriend ever since you got here. Besides, your drink's untouched." His brother always knew which spot to hit. "Maybe it's high time that you find yourself a girlfriend. A serious one at that," Keisuke added as he settled opposite his older brother and placed his drink on the table. Kenta, his Redsuns team-mate, pulled up a chair and joined in.

"You know I don't get myself involved in all these." Ryosuke answered. "With the school and the racing world, I don't need distractions. That's why I don't get serious."

"Yeah yeah, it's always just a 'game'." Kenta answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Some people have all the girls in the world, but they just can't seem to see that," he sighed.

For a moment, Ryosuke wondered if Kenta was talking about his groupies. Ryosuke questioned himself what these two fellows see in the throngs of girls who're skimpily clad and always doing their groupie screams each time they see Ryosuke. He can't stand this type of girls. They're number one on his hate list. He turned to look at his brother who took a sip and looked down at Takumi's direction. "I heard, his girlfriend is 2 years older than him." He nodded towards Takumi's area.

"Her friends are cute, too" Kenta added, with a glee and nudging Ryosuke.

"I haven't noticed," Ryosuke answered and stood up to leave for the rest room. That was obviously a lie and he can't be bothered to join in such conversations.. For the past half an hour, he had been observing that long haired brunette sitting amongst Takumi and his girlfriend. The long haired brunette who had been staring at him before the start of the race. Somehow, she had stood out amidst all the excitement and the crowd. Ryosuke knew for sure she was a definitely a virgin in the racing world.

As he left the restroom, he decided to call it a night and head home. He saw Kenta and his brother talking to a girl who was sitting beside Nyoko. He assumed she was Nyoko's friend. Speaking of which, the long-haired brunette was nowhere to be seen.

_Damn it, I must've missed her, _hecursed in his heart. Shrugging it off, he signalled to Kenta that he was leaving.

The cold wind greeted him as he stepped out of the bar. He lit a cigarette, zipped up his jacket and walked towards his car. And that's when he saw her, the girl who was staring at him before the start of the race. Despite her back facing him, he could recognize her from the off-white jacket she was wearing and that familiar long wavy hair which was tied up this time. Alone, she walked towards the main road.

Ryosuke continued staring at the girl's back, keeping his footsteps abreast with hers. In his mind, he was busy debating whether or not he should make a move. There was just something different about her. He'd noticed from his seat that she was quite reserved. Quite a number of guys had approached her but she was obviously putting up a wall and the expression in her eyes didn't show a slight hint of any interest. Weighing his decision, Ryosuke fiddled with his cigarette. It was now or never. Ryosuke pondered for a while. Finally, he took one last puff and threw the cigarette away.

"Going home?" he shouted at her. The brunette gave a short yelp and turned around.

_Nice one, Ryosuke. You scared the shit out of her._

"Sorry," he muttered sheepishly and held both hands up in surrender. Her expression changed immediately when she saw him. "Um.. its okay." She murmured, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Ryosuke neared up to her and noticed that she was showing signs of uneasiness.

"I don't bite," he said, as assuring as possible. "It's hard to get a cab from here." He was now standing about 2 feet away from her and he could smell the nice fragrant of hers. They continued to stare at each other. "I'm Ryosuke," he finally said, extending his hand. The girl stared at his hand and back to him. "Trust me, I don't bite," Ryosuke smiled slightly.

She shifted her gaze from his eyes back to his hand. "Sumie. Nice to meet you," Warmth spread from his hand to the rest of his body the moment she touched it. "Sumie," he repeated after her. "If you don't mind, I can give you a lift home. I'm not kidding when I say it's really hard to get a cab here. Besides, the main road is about half an hour's walk from here." Sumie stared at him, with a blank expression.

_Good god, this girl's a tough nut to crack. _

He was about to open his mouth when she cut in. "I know, you don't bite."

_What a smartass._ "So …" Ryosuke pointed to his car.

"So you often send girls home in this famous car of yours?" Sumie asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

Leaning forward to brush something away from the windscreen, he bit on his lower lip. He then turned to her and pretended to think, resting both hands on the steering wheel,. "Hmm … only a handful of them," He started stepped on the pedal.

"Only a handful of them who what?" Sumie asked, unrelenting. Ryosuke smirked but kept his eyes on the road. "You really want to know?"

Something tells Sumie that she's not going to like the answer. Slowly, he turned his head and stared fixedly at her with his foot still on the pedal, increasing the speed.

"Someone who's never been in racer's car," he said, his eyes still fixed upon hers. Sumie clutched tightly onto her seat as she felt the car speeding and most importantly, his intensifying stare still on hers and not on the road.

"Keep your eyes on the road," Sumie said softly.

He chuckled, obviously finding delight in her uneasiness. "See, you've definitely never been in a car which is under the hands of a racer,"


	3. Chapter 3 This is what friends are for

-1**First and foremost, I****'****d like to apologize for the delay in updates. **

**Next, I've received quite a number of reviews despite being on hiatus mode. I've taken into consideration all those much appreciated reviews (the thumbs-up and the put-downs). It's all for a good cause right?**

**So, guys here's Chapter 3. Knock yourself silly. Cheers!**

**Chapter 3**

"Sumie!" sang Nyoko as she stepped into her friend's cosy café. She closed her umbrella and gave it a little shake. With Aki just behind her, she cheerily lead the way and plonked herself down on the sofa.

"I love light drizzles," Nyoko said dreamily, playing with a strand of her hair. "But I love hot chocolate more," she quickly added and sat up immediately when Sumie placed a cup each in front of them.

"If I tell you that your random statements of I-love-this and I-love-that are killing me, would you stop?" asked Aki with a straight face. In response, Nyoko just took a sip of her hot drink and the look on her face conveyed a feeling of intense delight.

"Am I missing out on something here?" quizzed Sumie as she joined the table.

"Your friend here," Aki stated as a matter of fact and cocking her head towards Nyoko at the same time "is getting a little carried away with her romantic attraction."

"He's the object of my affection," added Nyoko.

"And you're making yourself look like an object of anybody's ridicule," Aki said with a smirk, knowing that her witty comeback had knocked Nyoko down with a feather.

Sumie couldn't help but laugh at her friends' pointless argument. It must've somehow snapped them back to reality because they went all quiet and had a sheepish look on their face. "Tsk, tsk" sighed Sumie, shaking her head.

"Did you guys go back late last night?" asked Sumie. "You know, lack of sleep can somewhat cause people…."

"Blah blah blah… yes, we did go back late last night." replied Aki. "You should've stayed a little longer. There were so many cute guys at the pub. I swear I was spoilt for choice."

"You know I don't just chat randomly with any Tom, Dick or Harry," replied Sumie a little quietly.

"Well, guess what Sumie; Tom's dead, Dick's married and Harry's gay. So, let's just get on with it," retorted Aki, a little exasperatedly. "Don't tell me you're going to wait forever."

A unbearable silence suddenly filled the atmosphere, reminding Sumie the most heart-breaking incident of her life. Past memories and broken promises flooded her mind. She shut her eyes, hoping it would flush them away.

"That's right, Sumie," added Nyoko. "It's been 3 years since you last heard from him. If he's true to his words, he'd have been back by now."

"Who says I'm still waiting for him?" said Sumie blatantly.

"Gee, let's see. The most obvious would definitely be the fact that you still frequent the park where you guys said your goodbyes before he left for the States."

Sumie tried to act calm but mentally, she was frantically concocting a possible excuse for her actions. "There's nothing wrong with reminiscing past memories, right?"

Aki took her time to deliberate Sumie's reason. "Then how come you haven't been taking the initiative to see anyone?"

"Who says I haven't?" replied Sumie a little too quickly and mentally winced. _Shit. Oh, shit._

"Well, well. What do we have here?" a completely shocked Nyoko voiced out. "When was this?"

"Well, last night in fact," Sumie said with a smile so fake that she might just be sued. "With the driver of the white FC," _Oh please, someone, slap me with a spoon. _

"Get out of here," Nyoko whispered in shock. For a few minutes, neither of the trio moved. Aki and Nyoko obviously trying to digest the bombshell that Sumie dropped on them.

"Wha- How-?" Aki stuttered.

"He offered to give me a ride back as it was quite difficult to get a cab in that area," Sumie explained. _Wow, her good conscience is finally back. _

Her best friends didn't say anything but the look on their faces obviously conveyed that they were unsatisfied with her answer. "Are you guys gonna meet up again or not?" Aki finally broke the silence.

"Well…" Sumie drawled slightly. "I told him we'd meet again if there's another race,"

"You've gotta be kidding. You'll be the death of me very, very soon," Nyoko said, rolling her eyes and slumped back into her seat only to immediately seat back up again in excitement and excused herself to the ladies. Sumie thought it was a bit odd, but then again looking at her current lovesick mode….

"Look me in the eye and tell me you'd meet him again if there's another race," Aki said pleadingly.

"Look, whatever that's happened in the past, I'm trying my very best to get over it. Cut me some slack here okay. Besides, he does seem interesting and.. Quite cute to boot," Sumie continued, adding the last part a little softly.

Nyoko came back, skipping to the table. "You'd better thank me for this." Nyoko said and placed Sumie's phone on the table. "I just messaged your white comet using your phone. He'll be here at 9 when your shop closes." Nyoko said triumphantly.

Aki opened her eyes real wide and hugged Nyoko, praising her for being so brilliant to come up with the idea.

Sumie, on the other hand, knows she can't get out of this bottomless pit.


End file.
